The Best Known Celebrity From Every State

The U.S. has 50 states and covers a massive amount of land in North America. Our favorite stars come from all corners of the land, and some of them could have been your next-door neighbors. Can you guess which celebrity was born in North Dakota? How about Illinois? You might be surprised; so, let’s discover who they are!

50. Alabama - Channing Tatum

The main character in ‘Magic Mike’ moved to Florida later on and started training in martial arts, but he has been spotted with clothes from the University of Alabama. Some other stars include Courteney Cox, Octavia Spencer, Lionel Richie, and Laverne Cox.

49. Alaska – Jewel Kilcher

Fans of Jewel think that she was born in Alaska. Though she spent most of her life in Homer, Alaska, she was actually born in Utah. Her family appears in Discovery Channel’s ‘Alaska: The Last Frontier’. Other celebrities include Darby Stanchfield and Bristol Palin.

48. Arizona – Emma Stone

The actress starting acting in the community theater at a young age, and by 14, she convinced her parents to let her work in Hollywood. Other stars from this state are Lynda Carter, Matt Dallas, Mare Winningham, Stevie Nicks, and Diana Gabaldon.

47. Arkansas – Billy Bob Thornton

He used to live in his grandmother’s cabin. "Well, I came from a big family and we would all gather at my grandmother's house out in the woods there where I lived the first six or seven years of my life. And you know, the family came in from Texas, we had a lot of family there. We didn't have a lot of money. But you know when you're a kid you don't know that. I mean you're not aware of all of that kind of stuff."

Other stars from this state are Wes Bentley, George Newbern, and Ne-Yo.

46. California – Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson

This might be surprising to his fans because the actor’s family left for Hawaii when he was just 2 years old. Other notable people that hail from this region are The Kardashians, Tom Hanks, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben Affleck, Kendrick Lamar.

45. Colorado – Tim Allen

His father died tragically in a car accident, and so his mother moved them to Michigan a couple of years later. Other stars from this state include Melissa Benoist, David Fincher, Trey Parker, Kelly Bishop, and John Kerry.

44. Connecticut – Seth MacFarlane

He studied at a boarding school where his mom was a teacher, and spent his childhood in that region. Other important people fom this state are Amy Brenneman, Meg Ryan, Glenn Close, Jenna Dewan Tatum, Justin Long, and Allison Janney.

43. Delaware - Aubrey Plaza

She grew up in Wilmington, and by a young age, she was acting in the town’s drama league. Other stars from Delaware are John Gallagher Jr., Elisabeth Shue, Raul Esparza, and Ryan Phillippe.

42. Florida – Pitbull

His real name is Armando Christian Perez, and he was raised in Miami with Cuban ancestry. His music reflects the influence he gained from the Miami bass genre and South America. Other famous people from Florida are Abigail Spencer, Eva Mendes, Bella Thorne, and Norman Reedus.

41. Georgia – Julia Roberts

She was born in Smyrna, and her parents had a workshop for actors and writers in Atlanta. Some other stars including Dakota and Ella Fanning, Kelly Rowland, Luke Bryan, Andre 3000 are from Georgia too.

40. Hawaii – Bruno Mars

His real name is Peter Gene Hernandez, and he was raised in Honolulu. His father played drums and his mother was a hula dancer. More stars from this state include Timothy Olyphant, Bette Midler, Jason Momoa, and Jack Johnson.

39. Idaho – Aaron Paul

He was born in Emmett but moved around a lot until his family settled in Boise, Idaho. He moved to Hollywood at the age of 17. Other celebrities include Tara Buck and Dree Hemingway.

38. Illinois – Harrison Ford

The actor grew up in Chicago, and his father worked as an advertising executive. Other famous people from Illinois are Chance the Rapper, Melissa McCarthy, Bill Murray, Jennifer Hudson, Betty White, and Gina Rodriguez.

37. Indiana – David Letterman

He was raised in Indianapolis and graduated from Ball State in Muncie. One of the buildings was later named after him. Such famous people as Vivica A. Fox, Greg Kinnear, Ryan Murphy, Jim Gaffigan were born in Indiana.

36. Iowa – Ashton Kutcher

He was born in Cedar Rapids and continues supporting the community. He helped to found the Native Fund, which helps locals to recover from a natural disaster. Other people you might know are Michele Monaghan, Robin Lord Taylor, and Elijah Wood.

35. Kansas – Janelle Monae

She grew up in Kansas City but moved to New York City to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy. However, Janelle later moved to Atlanta. Other famous people including Kirstie Alley, Annette Bening, Eric Stonestreet are from this state also.

34. Kentucky – George Clooney

He lived for some time in Lexington as a child, but his family relocated to Ohio for a while before returning home. Other important people are Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Chris Stapleton, and Michael Shannon.

33. Louisiana – Ellen DeGeneres

She was born in Metairie just like other stars including Reese Witherspoon, Jared Leto, Tim McGraw, Harry Connick Jr., and Zachary Levi.

32. Maine – Anna Kendrick

She actually grew up in Portland, but she was 12 years old for her first Tony nomination. She returned to school in Portland instead of taking the key. Other celebrities include Stephen King, Patrick Dempsey, and Erin Andrews.

31. Maryland – Anna Faris

Her father was a teacher at Towson University, and father moved to Seattle when she was six. Other famous people are David Hasselhoff, Jada Pinkett Smith, Te-Nesi Coats, and Christian Siriano.

30. Massachusetts – Mark Wahlberg

The actor comes from Boston, and that's where he and his brothers have a restaurant chain called Wahlburgers. Other celebrities from Massachusetts include Matt Damon, Mindy Kaling, Chris Evans, Steve Carell, Conan O’Brien, and James Taylor.

29. Michigan – Kristen Bell

She was raised in Huntington Woods, Detroit, and her husband, Dax Shepard, was also born in this state. Other popular people include Diana Ross, Madonna, Michael Moore, Taylor Lautner, Lily Tomlin, and Jerry Bruckheimer.

28. Minnesota – Bob Dylan

His real name is Robert Allen Zimmerman, and he was born in Duluth. The singer also studied at the University of Minnesota and won a Nobel Prize. Other stars include Christ Pratt, Jessica Lange, Vincent Kartheiser, and Winona Ryder.

27. Mississippi – Oprah Winfrey

Her mother was a teenager when Oprah was born, and she grew up in Kosciusko. She lived her childhood with her grandmother. Other important people from Mississippi are Fred Armisen, Tig Notaro, James Earl Jones, and Britney Spears.

26. Missouri – Jon Hamm

He spent his childhood in St. Louis and went to the University of Missouri. Other celebrities that were also born in Missouri are Sterling K. Brown, Don Cheadle, Andy Cohen, Ellie Kemper, and Matt Bomer.

25. Montana – Michelle Williams

She was raised in Kalispell along with her sister, but their family moved to San Diego, California when she was just nine. Other popular stars from this state are Dana Carvey, David Lynch, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

24. Nebraska – Gabrielle Union

The actress is originally from Omaha, and naturally, she was a fan of the Cornhuskers. Some other stars from Nebraska include Jaime King, Hilary Swank, and Bryan Greenberg.

23. Nevada – Matthew Gray Gubler

He was born in Las Vegas and attended the Las Vegas Academy of International Studies. Jena Malone, Charisma Carpenter, and Rutina Wesley are also from Nevada.

22. New Hampshire – Mandy Moore

She was born in Nashua but moved to Florida at just two months old after her family relocated. Other stars from the Sunshine state include Matt Czuchry and Sarah Silverman.

21. New Jersey – Bruce Springsteen

He was born in Long Branch, and nowadays, everyone associates the name Springsteen with Jersey because his songs often talked about growing up there. Major celebrities like Meryl Streep, Queen Latifah, Danny DeVito, Peter Dinklage, Paul Rudd, and Jon Bon Jovi also come from this state.

20. New Mexico – Neil Patrick Harris

He was born in Albuquerque, but he was raised in Ruidoso. Celebrities like Demi Lovato, Anna Gunn, Demi Moore, and Adrian Grenier are also from New Mexico.

19. New York – Denzel Washington

The actor was raised in Mount Vernon and went to a military academy at the age of 14. After that, he attended Fordham University in the Bronx. Other stars include Jennifer Lopez, Adam Sandler, Robert Downey Jr., Robert DeNiro, Kerry Washington, and Jerry Seinfeld.

18. North Carolina – Julianne Moore

She was born at Fort Bragg, but since her father was in the military, family had move a lot during her younger years. People like Britt Robertson, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Bellamy Young, and Evan Rachel Wood also come from North Carolina.

17. North Dakota – Josh Duhamel

He grew up in Minot and was a football star at Minot State University. Other celebrities from North Dakota include Wiz Khalifa and Kellan Lutz.

16. Ohio – LeBron James

The star of the Cleveland Cavaliers grew up in Akron, and his foundation has often given much to the city. Other stars include Bow Wow, John Legend, Sarah Jessica Parker, Steven Spielberg, and Drew Carey.

15. Oklahoma – Brad Pitt

He was born in Shawnee, but his family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri where he grew up. Major celebrities from this state are Carrie Underwood, Olivia Munn, Toby Keith, James Marsden, Ron Howard, and Kristin Chenoweth.

14. Oregon – Ty Burrell

The actor grew up in Grants Pass, and he went to Southern Oregon University. River Phoenix, Thomas Mann, and Kaitlin Olson were also born in Oregon.

13. Pennsylvania – Taylor Swift

Her family owned a Christmas tree farm in Reading, but at the age of 14, she got them to move to Nashville so that she could make it into music. Other stars from this state include Will Smith, Tina Fey, Bob Saget, Bradley Cooper, Joe Manganiello, and Kevin Bacon.

12. Rhode Island – Damien Chazelle

He is famous for directing ‘La La Land’ and was born in Providence. His family moved to Princeton, New Jersey later on. Olivia Culpo is another celebrity from Rhode Island.

11. South Carolina – Aziz Ansari

Ansari was raised in Columbia, but he moved to New York to attend college at New York University. Other stars include Chris Rock, Jaimie Alexander, Anna Camp, Mike Colter, Viola Davis, and Chadwick Boseman.

10. South Dakota – January Jones

She was born in Sioux Falls but also lived for a while in Hecla. Tom Brokaw and Amy Hill also come from South Dakota.

9. Tennessee – Miley Cyrus

The ‘Wreaking Ball’ singer grew up on a farm in Franklin and started her career as a teen in Disney’s ‘Hannah Montana’. Justin Timberlake, Christina Hendricks, Quentin Tarantino, Kathy Bates, Megan Fox, and Morgan Freeman are also from Tennessee.

8. Texas – Beyonce

She grew up in Houston, and her BeyGood foundation significantly helped the people after Hurricane Harvey. Tom Ford, Chace Crawford, Eva Longoria, Nick Jones, Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Jessica Simpson, and Wes Anderson are also from Texas.

7. Utah – Chrissy Teigen

The model was born in Delta, but her family moved around a lot. They ended up in Huntington, California. She was working at a surf shop when they discovered her. Other stars include Julianne Hough, Matthew Davis, and Roseanne Barr.

6. Vermont – Joanna Levesque

Better known as JoJo, she was born in Brattleboro, but her family settled in Foxborough, Massachusetts, where she grew up. Other celebrities from Vermont are Zosia Mamet and Grace Potter.

5. Virginia – Sandra Bullock

The actress was born in Arlington, but she spent 12 years in Germany where her mother comes from. Her father worked for the United States Army. Missy Elliott, Hilarie Burton, and Rob Lowe are also from Virginia.

4. Washington – Jeffrey Dean Morgan

He spent most of his formative years in Seattle and loves the Seahawks. Other stars include Constance Zimmer, Ben Gibbard, Macklemore, and Kyle MacLachlan.

3. West Virginia – Brad Paisley

He grew in Glen Dale, and his family is still there so, he often visits the state. Chris Sarandon, John Corbett, and Josh Stewart are also from West Virginia.

1. Wyoming – Jim Beaver

His dad was earning his graduate degree at the University of Wyoming when he was born. Shortly after that, they moved to Texas, where most of the family lived. Another popular star that hails from Wyoming is Pete Williams.

Some stars on this list come from surprising parts of the United States. Let us know if any celebrities come from the same state as you. If you liked this article, share it with your friends all over the U.S. See you next time!